Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line 4 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar. Slowly stream in the syrup and then the applesauce. Mix until well combined and fluffy. In a small bowl, whisk together the cinnamon, cayenne, pepper, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and flour. Slowly add to the fluffy batter and beat until well combined. Drop tablespoonful amounts on to the cookie sheet, spacing you have about 6 cookies per sheet. Bake 12 minutes. They should look "set" but slightly shiny. Remove to wire racks and cool.

Yield: about 2 1/2 dozen.

*You can find this near pancake syrup or in a British foods section.

My thoughts:

I have in the past used applesauce in place of oil in quick breads when I was trying to cut the fat content. I had never thought of using it in cookies until I saw a recipe in low fat cookbook that called for molasses and applesauce instead of eggs in a recipe for a 60 calorie cookie. I was intrigued but I don't really care for molasses so I returned the book to the library and put it out of my head. Anyway, for some reason I was thinking of it today and came up with this cookie. I used golden syrup instead of molasses and just a tiny bit of melted butter. The flavor really is that of a cup of spicy Mexican hot chocolate and since there are no eggs you can taste the batter and adjust the spices without worrying about food poisoning.

Hi there! I've tried this recipe for the past two days. The flavor's amazing, but I can't seem to get the shape/texture to come out looking like yours. My cookies don't spread very much, and end up fairly thick with cracked tops. How do you get yours to look so even?thanks!

These were actually a little bit too spicy for me, but they were great overall. I loved the smoky chocolate taste. I’m making a batch without the cayenne for an after Thanksgiving Dinner party today. Thanks for another great recipe! c: